You ever been sitting in your living room, coffee in hand, dog snoring at your feet, and suddenly the sky goes from bluebird pretty to looking like the end of days? I have. More than once. And let me tell you, the first time it happened I wasn’t ready. Not even close. My emergency kit was basically a drawer full of old batteries, a half-burnt candle from a birthday cake, and a flashlight that hadn’t seen fresh AA’s since Clinton was in office. My plan, if you could even call it that, was to panic mildly and hope someone smarter showed up.

Well, no one smarter showed up. And that’s when I realized I had two choices. Keep rolling the dice or get my act together. I picked the second one, and it’s been a long, duct-tape-covered road ever since. I didn’t become a prepper because I’m scared of the world. I became a prepper because I’ve lived in it. And I’ve watched people I love scramble to find bottled water after a hurricane. I’ve bailed out neighbors during a flood with a bucket and a prayer. And I’ve seen how fast the world can go sideways when the lights go out and the cell towers drop off.

Now, I don’t live in a bunker and I don’t eat freeze-dried beef stroganoff by candlelight every night. I still mow my lawn and go to Little League games and get annoyed when someone takes up two parking spots at the gas station. But I also keep a bag by the door, a plan in my head, and enough extra stuff in the garage to ride out most curveballs nature can throw at us.

This book ain’t for survivalists who already know how to filter water through moss and animal bones. This book’s for folks like you and me. Ordinary people who just want to sleep a little better at night knowing they won’t be standing in the middle of a power outage holding a phone with no signal and no clue what to do next.

You don’t need a cabin in the woods or a bunker full of beans. You just need a plan, a few supplies, and the good sense to know that being prepared isn’t crazy. It’s responsible. And maybe even a little contagious.

So let’s talk storms. The wet ones, the windy ones, the shaky ground under your boots ones. I’ve lived through more than a few and picked up some hard-earned lessons along the way. If I can help you get ready without scaring the daylights out of your family or spending a fortune, then I’d say that’s a win for both of us.